St. Patrick's Parades Among A Bounty Of Irish Fests

March 10, 2005|By AMY ELLIS LUNA; COURANT STAFF WRITER

Grand Marshal John P. Droney of West Hartford and the Person of the Year, Hartford Deputy Fire Chief Daniel C. Nolan of Windsor, will lead the 34th annual Greater Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday at 11 a.m.

The parade begins at the State Capitol and continues down Capitol Avenue, turning onto Main Street, then onto Asylum Street before finishing by the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch. Marching divisions this year include contingents from East Hartford, Enfield, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, Newington, Rocky Hill, South Windsor, Suffield, Vernon, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.

New this year is a 5 kilometer road race at 9 a.m., before the parade, sponsored by the Hartford Marathon Foundation. Information and registration information can be found at www.hartfordmarathon.com.

More information on the Greater Hartford St. Patrick's Parade can be found at www.centralctceltic.com.

The New Haven St. Patrick's Day Parade kicks off Sunday at the Chapel/Derby Green at 1:30 p.m. The parade will proceed down Chapel Street and turn north on Church Street, ending at Grove Street. The reviewing stand will be on Church Street in front of New Haven City Hall. The grand marshal is Coleman W. Walsh Jr.

Information: www.stpatricksdayparade.org.

The second annual Mystic St. Patrick's Parade is March 20 at 2 p.m. in downtown Mystic. More than 70 marching units and 18 bands will perform along the new marching route from Mystic Seaport Museum to the Mystic Art Association. Marchers include bagpipers, Irish step dancers, pipe and drum units, military drill teams, honor guards, drum and bugle corps, military drill teams, big brass bands and more. The grand marshal is local resident and businessman James P. O'Boyle.

The parade begins at the south entrance of Mystic Seaport. It will head south on Route 27, turn right on Willow Street then left on Broadway. The parade proceeds around the monument down East Main Street to the flagpole. The procession continues across the Mystic Drawbridge on West Main Street to Bank Square and finally west on Water Street to the Mystic Art Association.

Information: 860-608-4883 or www.mysticirishparade.org.

Other statewide

Irish events

*Mohegan Sun presents two Irish shows in the Wolf Den: the Commitments on Sunday and Forever Irish starring Andy Cooney March 17. Both shows are at 7 p.m. Also on the bill March 17, the Andy Cooney Band, the musical-comedy duo Mac & O and a troupe of Irish dancers. Both shows are free. Information: 860-862-7163 or www.mohegansun.com.

*Guitarist Al Petteway performs contemporary Celtic-influenced traditional acoustic music with his wife, Amy White, at the First Church of Christ, 2183 Main St., Glastonbury, Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 premium, $25 general admission, $20 for students and senior citizens. Information: 860-648-0799.

*Celtic Airs and WWUH-FM (91.3) present the Karan Casey Band Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Wilde Auditorium at the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford. Tickets are $18. Information: 800-274-8587, 860-768-4228 or www.hartford.edu/hartt

*Julie Glaub and her band Sead perform at the Norfolk Library Sunday at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served. For reservations, call 860-542-5075.

*The Meriden Turner Society, 800 Old Colony Road, celebrates the luck of the Irish with a dinner and dance Sunday. Doors open at noon; a corned beef and cabbage dinner will be served at 1 p.m. Entertainment includes the Shamrock Dance Group from Bristol and the Menko Orchestra. Tickets and information: 203-440-9624; 203-440-0028.

*The UConn Celtic American Cultural Society presents a ``Celtic Night'' to celebrate Irish, Scottish and Welsh cultures Wednesday from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. The event will be held in the Rome Commons Ballroom on the Storrs campus and will feature Irish step dancers, the Conn Men and Ruby Fruit (a cappella bands), Celtic speakers and the Mystic Highland Pipe Band. Admission and refreshments are free; donations to the UConn Celtic American Cultural Society are appreciated. Information: 860-617-5687.

*You can catch Irish fiddler P.V. O'Donnell at several venues this week and next:

Friday at 6:30 p.m., O'Donnell will be at St. Clements Castle, 1931 Portland Cobalt Road, Portland, for an Irish concert and dinner. Reservations: 860-342-0593.

The Hartford Symphony POPS! and guest conductor Gerald Steichen present a ``St. Patrick's Celtic Celebration'' March 17 and 18 in Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. The program features traditional and modern favorites from the Emerald Isle, with appearances by O'Donnell, tenor Michael Brian Dunn and step dancers from the John O'Keefe School of Dance in Hamden. Tickets range from $19 to $61. Tickets and information: 860-244-2999 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.

O'Donnell also performs at an Irish Pub Night March 19, 7:30 p.m., at the Litchfield Community Center, 421 Bantam Road. Information: 860-567-8302.